Pod Rods: The Frankfurt Flyer, the best car ads in Britain; and the oldest Ford comes home

Dan Scanlan

Friday

Dec 21, 2012 at 6:06 PM

Welcome to the holiday edition of Pod Rods, which checks out the latest news and hints of the new and classic car world.

This week, a collection of cool car Christmas cards, a really cool homemade Porsche and some wild videos big and small. Also, check out First Coast Gears over at First Coast News, our news partner.

Now the news:

-- Christmas time means Christmas cards, and I have been getting some really fun ones from the Automotiove Fine Arts Association. That's a group of seriously talented artists whose themes are automotive in nature, and who have annually shown their sculptures, paintings and drawings of all things antique and exotic during the annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, set for March 8-10 next year. Take a gander at the artwork sent in these great Christmas cards - Ken Eberts Mode T and a snow-covered home; Jay Koka's boattail Cord L-29 roadster; Charles Maher's Model A truck and tree; Bill Neale's Santa and Mustang, and Jack Juratovic's great North Pole Special.

-- Chris Runge loves cars, and Porsches in particular. So when he had a chance to build his own, the Frankfurt Flyer, his beautifully homemade tribute to the sleek 1950 Glockler Series 1 VW racer and winner of Germany's 1100cc sports car class championship, was what he did. Lucky folks saw the single seater flying around the race track at Savannah a few weeks ago during the Hilton Head Concours' speed weekend. Now Runge's car has received a nomination as the Hooniversal Car of the Year nominee. Hooniverse is a web site for car geeks. They call the Frankfurt Flyer "the single coolest project I have ever seen, Porsche related or not." The Frankfurt Flyer has bits of a Predator P3 Formula Vee chassis, Porsche 912 crank and rods, a 1958 VW type 1 case and 1966 Beetle pistons. With a handbuilt metal body and 70-hp, it probably flies. And it is street legal.

-- Lexus' last supercar has rolled down the line.A white LFA Nürburgring Package, the last of 500 planned, left the plant Dec. 14. The 552-hp V-10 supercar, which could hit 60-mph in 3.6 seconds and cost $375,895, marks the end of a key chapter, Lexus said. In a news release, it states that the "learning and passion gained from engineering and producing a world-class supercar can already be seen in the products recently launched by Lexus."

'I've lived and breathed supercars for the past decade," said Haruhiko Tanahashi, the LFA's Chief Engineer. "Specifically one supercar. The LFA. Very few people have the opportunity we had: to create a world-class supercar from a blank sheet of paper."

Production started two years ago and included a team of around 170 hand-picked staff involved in parts manufacturing, vehicle assembly and painting. The high performance LFA was produced at the rate of just one unit per day.

-- The new Jaguar F-TYPE sports car was wrung out recently by some world-class drivers during its development program - Martin Brundle, Christian Danner and Justin Bell. And a video shows how well the new 380 hp V-6 and 495 hp V-8 prototypes did at Britain's winding Snetterton circuit and its surrounding Norfolk roads. Jaguar chief engineer Mike Cross said it was "a fascinating day" as camouflaged prototypes were tested. Data shows the 380 hp F-TYPE S does 60 mph in 4.8 seconds on up to 171 mph. The V-8 S did 60 mph in 4.2 seconds. You can view the F-TYPE track and road driving impressions at this link.

-- Ugur Sahin Design has reinterpreted the classic 1934 coachbuilt Rolls Royce Jonckheere Aerodynamic Coupe as a more modern concept. The original car was based on a 1925 Rolls-Royce redesigned by Belgium coachbuilder Henri Jonckheere in 1935. Called the "round-door" Rolls, no information on who actually penned the original shape survived since the plant was destroyed in World War II. But Jonckheere survives and commissioned Ugur Sahin to "respectfully reinterpret" the original, currently at the California-based Peterson Museum. The new design retains elements like the colossal grill, round doors and finned spine. And word is the designer is seeking someone willing to build the car, existing only as a computer design now.

-- It's not too late to ask Santa for a race car for Christmas, and here's a video of one made in Slovakia called the Praga R1 that weighs 1,261 pounds and has a 210-hp Renault four-cylinder set behind the driver. It's got a 6-speed sequential gearbox and AP Racing brakes as well as a 6-point race harness for the driver. A passenger seat is optional.

-- GM says that the next-generation Chevrolet Camaro will be assembled back in the continental USA rather than in Oshawa, Canada. The manufacturing moves to the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Michigan, the decision is based on lower capital investment and improved production efficiencies at the plant. Production of the current generation Chevrolet Camaro will continue on the flexible manufacturing line at Oshawa Assembly until the end of the current product lifecycle. The Buick Regal continues to be produced there, and GM recently invested $185 million to support the launch of two new products - the Cadillac XTS and the next-generation Chevrolet Impala.

-- I've enjoyed showing the great Ken Block Gymkhana videos as he and his infamous Ford Fiesta assaults streets and tracks around the world. Now Ford of Europe has had a Block-style fling of its own with a Fiesta, albeit a tiny one. The result is a stop-motion Snowkhana One using a scaled-down version of Block's car, someone's garage and a lot of free time. Autoblog posts it, showing the little car can handle the Abominable Snowman, some Star wars action and even the cops.

-- Carbon Motors, the guys who say they have taken 24,442 reservations from 638 police agencies for their purpose-built Carbon E7 Pursuit and Surveillance police car, say they are also ready to sell the Carbon TX7. That is what they call a Multi Mission Vehicle (MMV) that can offer "on-scene command, surveillance, prisoner transport and personnel carrying capabilities." And they are ready to E7 production in late 2013. The TX7 gets a V-8 diesel engine and 6-speed automatic transmission with four-wheel-drive and a 10-person capability. A Compressed Natural Gas powertrain is an option. It has a starting price of $149,950. . For more information, go to www.carbonmotors.com.

-- Toyota's new Furia Concept makes its world debut next month at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. But Autoblog has posted a fiery video showing some serious teases of what Toyota has called an "exciting sedan concept." Here's the Autoblog link.

-- Here's your chance to own a piece of a president - specifically former President George W. Bush's 2009 Ford F-150 pickup, set to be auctioned at Barrett-Jackson's Scottsdale auction on Jan. 19. Proceeds from the sale of the King Ranch (expect any less for Bush 43?) SuperCrew will benefit the Fisher House Foundation. The former president used the truck at his Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas, since shortly after he left the White House in 2009. For more information, visit www.barrett-jackson.co.

-- Ford has a piece of its history back in its possession - a 1903 Model A, the first product of Ford Motor Company. And if it wasn't for the little 2-cylinder 8-hp A, the company might have died. That's because the company sold three of them in July 1903 as its cash reserves were down to $250. The one just purchased by Executive Chairman Bill Ford is one of those three and the only one left. A red Rear Entry Tonneau, the vehicle had only five previous owners in its 109-year existence. John O'Quinn was the final owner before Bill Ford. The car will also kick off the Henry Ford 150th Birthday Celebration on July 30, 2013. For information, log onto www.henryford150.com.

-- An updated version of the BMW Z4 Roadster is set to arrive in showrooms by next spring with new exterior features, detailed interior refinements, a new Hyper Orange design package and BMW ConnectedDrive features. The new BMW Z4 takes to the stage 25 years after the legendary BMW Z1 began the modern era of BMW Roadsters. The roadster will come with one four-cylinder and two inline-six powerplants with TwinPower Turbo technology. The base 2-liter produces 240 hp and hits 60-mph in 5.5 seconds. The 3.0-liter inline-6 produces 300 hp and hits 60 mph in five seconds. The top inline-6 has 335 hp and gets to 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds.

-- Finally, Britain's Auto Express has rated Honda's 2003 "cog" commercial as the best car ad of all-time, taking 31 percent of the votes in the poll of users of Autoexpress.co.uk. Ford's ad for the Puma with a digitally-inserted Steve McQueen took second place, while Peugeot's 206 advertisement, 'The Sculptor', was third.

Of course, we folks in the states never saw these ads except on viral videos. But Autoblog has assembled some of them, and I can say the Honda ad is just this side of brilliant.

• Jacksonville Truck Nights - 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at Round Boys Grill, 11629-8 San Jose Blvd., and 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at Brewer's Pizza, 14B Blanding Blvd. in Orange Park.

Georgia cruise-ins:

• Southeast Georgia Car and Truck Club cruise-ins - 6 p.m. the second Saturday of each month at Sonic's, 395 Charlie Smith Senior Highway, St. Marys; and 6 p.m. on the fourth Saturday of each month at the Millhouse Steakhouse, 1215 East King Ave. in Kingsland, next to Interstate 95.

• Bike Enthusiasts show - 7 p.m. the first and third Thursdays, Cavagnaro's restaurant at 1810 South GA Parkway W. in Waycross.

• Zaxby's Car Show - 6 to 9 p.m. the third Saturday of every month, Zaxby's at 2316 Memorial Drive in Waycross.